Matthew Burgess has been on the sell-side for much of his career but joined RoyalHis new role is more of a top-downposition where he is workingalongside portfolio managers onoptimisation and screening toenable them to take some shorterterm macro bets.Over the coming months, Burgessanticipates that his role willdevelop further as RLAM currentlysees some gaps in the productlines between active and passive.He explains: “The originalmandate that I spoke to the CIOabout… before I joined was lowerspec than the job I was eventuallyhired to do. I am definitely more ofa strategist than a pure quant guy.In the mid-term, I will bemanaging something that is inthe middle of passive and active,then longer term it will betracking portfolios with an overlayof systematic alpha.”Burgess has two young childrenbut still finds time for plenty ofsport. He plays competitive golfand is a keen footballer, havingonce played in Aston Villa’s Schoolfor Excellence. He is a graduate ofSouthampton University inManagement Sciences and is 37years old. n